The second season of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon aired its season finale up back in August. The plan is currently for HBO to also make a third and fourth season to wrap up the story of the Dance of the Dragons, the brutal internecine war fought between rival factions of the Targaryen dynasty. With a show this size, it's best to get things rolling on the next season sooner rather than later; otherwise fans will be waiting forever to watch new episodes.
We're slightly closer today than we were yesterday: according to Production List, a reliable industry rag that catalogs shoot dates for major shows and movies, pre-production on House of the Dragon begins today, October 31.
Is it a bad sign that pre-production is starting on Halloween? A good sign? Discuss amongst yourselves. In any case, this doesn't mean that cameras are rolling or that actors are on set; showrunner Ryan Condal expects actual production to start "earlyish 2025." Pre-production is dedicated to getting everything ready for that moment when they turn the camera on. So they're building and dressing the sets, securing the permits, casting the extras and braiding the roomfuls of white-blonde wigs.
The second season of House of the Dragon left off on the eve of a couple of big events from George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, including a battle called the Battle of the Gullet. Season 3 will likely hit the ground running.
That said, what I'm most interested in seeing is whether the producers of the show take on board any of the criticism offered by George R.R. Martin, or if they plunge ahead with all the changes they've made from his source material. Even with the show starting pre-production today, we're unlikely to find out before 2026, which is when new episodes are expected to start dropping on HBO and Max.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.